Language to Language C. Taylor Lexis and terminology (p. 21)

T R A N S L A T I O N Terms Words Ambiguous Polysemous Collocation-bound Register-sensitive Terms Monosemic Invariable One-to-one relationship between language and reality e.g. multiple sclerosis Context - Co-text Meaning Right equivalent T R A N S L A T I O N

1.2.1. General Lexis The translator’s task is not simply a question of finding dictionary equivalents to a series of lexical items…. …translators must be particularly sensitive to the meanings of the words on the page.

Bath=bagno La valle dei Pirenei, in cui si trovano i bagni termali di Vernet, non è molto conosciuta dai viaggiatori inglesi. Le calde acque termali di Vernet si trovano ai piedi del Canigou verso occidente in una valle isolata e chiusa. The Pyreneean valley in which the baths of Vernet are situated is not so much known to English travellers. Under the Canigou, towards the west, lie the hot baths of Vernet, in a close secluded valley.

The frequenters of these baths were a few years back gathered almost entirely from near towns… It was built immediately over one of the thermal springs, so that the water flowed from the bowels of the earth directly into the baths. Fino a pochi anni fa, i clienti di queste terme erano principalmente attratti da paesi vicini.. Era costruito proprio a ridosso di una delle sorgenti termali in modo che l’acqua scorresse dalle viscere della terra direttamente nelle vasche.

Componential analysis A means of creating the complete semantic picture of a lexical item. It consists in breaking a word down into its components (man=male+human+adult) in order to arrive at its total meaning. A lexical item is a set or cluster of components (semantic features)

Function of componential analysis Once identified the semantic components of the lexical item, the ‘source word’ can be more easily translated through near-synonyms, paraphrase expressions, compensatory solutions or even replacement by zero, depending on the particular context of situation.

The Secret of Adrian Mole by Sue Townsend My mother and creep Lucas met at Sheffield. My mother looked dead thin and has started dressing in clothes that are too young for her. Lucas creep was wearing jeans. His belly was hanging over his belt. I pretended to be asleep until we got to Scotland. Lucas mauled my mother about whilst he was driving.

To maul English/Italian dictionary: malmenare, maneggiare, bistrattare NO (Adrian is in the car) Monolingual dictionary: to handle sb/sth roughlly or brutally Dizionario sinonimi/contrari:coccolare = coccolare (grossolanamente)

False cognates/False friends Striking for the gentle Striking for the kind… (Bob Dylan) gentle= dolce, mite, moderato, lieve tenero,benevolo, garbato, cortese, eletto Monolingual dic: Never do any harm to anyone Rintoccavano per il mite, rintoccavano per il gentile

Collocation You shall know a word by the company it keeps Words grouping together

Fixed idioms: topsy-turvy predictable collocations Flexible idioms: to ride A horse Bicycle The storm A crisis A problem

The patterns of collocation in one language are often not mirrored in another T R A N S L A T I O N P R O B L E M Mangiano spaghetti si mangiano le unghie Eat spaghetti bite their nails Treni che fanno servizio.. Trains running..

…but there is a certain amount of equivalence Time flies il tempo vola Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth A caval donato non si guarda in bocca

Partial equivalence Ci mancherebbe altro What next Tutto il mondo è paese It’s the same world over

Irony in translation It’s just not cricket = Non è fair play National game The game of English gentlemen Mataphor of fair play

Irony in translation It’s just not ice-hockey = Non è gioco sporco New game Violent game It’s not fair play

Each langauge has its own set of collocations which must be taken into consideration for an appropriate translation